Damascus car bomb kills 10, wounds 62

DAMASCUS -The Associated Press

A bomb kills 10 in Jaramanah, in the latest series of attacks to hit the town. REUTERS photo

A car bomb killed at least 10 people and wounded around 62 today when it exploded on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, state media said.

State news agency SANA said the bomb hit the al-Siyouf Square in Jaramanah. It blamed the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, an al Qaeda-linked group fighting alongside rebels in the two-year-old civil war against President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast killed ten and wounded more than 60. It said the blast caused heavy material damage and started a fire.

Jaramana, a neighborhood that overwhelmingly supports the government of al-Assad, has been targeted by a series of explosions before.

After rebel gains around the country, the army has pushed back in recent weeks and reinforced the capital while rebels hold outlying areas. The insurgents use mortars and car bombs to hit areas still held by the government.
The United Nations says nearly 100,000 people have been killed in the war, which started with peaceful protests against four decades of family rule but turned violent in the face of a security crackdown.